Shoppers share their views on Shipley Market revamp

Megan Benson said she liked the open-plan design of the new market place

Shipley's new Market Square has opened to the public after a £4m transformation.

With the project complete the BBC spoke to shoppers and stallholders to find out their first impressions.

Sitting on the newly installed seating 21-year-old Megan Benson watched on as her two-year-old daughter chased pigeons around the square.

"It's nice. It's more modern in fashion and nicer than what it was before," she said of her surroundings.

"She loves it, there's loads of space to run around and everything. She loves chasing the birds.

"There's a lot more space and it's nice and open."

The Shipley Market Square project is complete apart from the old toilet block which remains fenced off

The newly refurbished square includes covered stalls, new gardens and a poem written by pupils from Shipley CE Primary School inscribed in the paving.

Simone Hussain, a regular user of the old market, said the new space was "nice and clean".

The 23-year-old said: "I did use to go to the old market but I think this now makes it feel more spacious. It's a bit more like a proper town centre.

"Everything seems a lot more clearer too. You can see it's a bit more modern looking."

Work to remove the old permanent stalls and landscape the area was funded with a £3m grant from the Shipley Towns Fund and a further £1m from the the West Yorkshire Combined Authority's Streets for People fund.

Stallholder and wheelchair user Scott Pyrah said accessibility at the site could be improved

Wheelchair user Scott Pyrah, 37, has been selling children's pyjamas from a market stall in the town for seven years.

He said: "It looks nice, but there again I think they could have coloured it up a bit with more colourful plants.

"There used to be a ramp at this side of the stairs which people like myself and the elderly could use to get up to the top of the precinct.

"So I prefer the old market at the minute, though, as this is not as accessible."

Alex Ross-Shaw Bradford Council's Portfolio Holder for Regeneration said: "I think it's fantastic. You can see people using the seating, the market's looking nice under the canopy as well.

"Hopefully it will give the whole area a lift."

Asked about the accessibility of the new market he said the ramp by the stairs had to be removed "as a bit of a compromise" to the new design.

He said the market space was a lot more level than it used to be and a pathway allowed disabled access from one side of the square.

He added that a "snagging process" was underway to tackle any problems that arose once the work was completed.

Market trader Emma Sykes thinks the money should have been spent sprucing up the old market

But not everyone was convinced the market needed transforming.

Stallholder Emma Sykes said: "It's a bit quiet, well very quiet to be truthful.

"We preferred the old market or up on the top precinct. We were getting a lot more footfall

"We did only start last week, so we've got to give it time and hopefully it does pick up and get better.

"To say that they've spent so much money, I don't think it was worth it. The old market was brilliant, it just needed repainting.

"I'll definitely give it time under here, but if not I think we're all going to go back up on to the top precinct. So it might've been a waste of money."

Listen to highlights from West Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.